If there was one thing the Apples were known for, it was how many of them there were. With family from all over Equestria, their reunions were huge, and as the since she was dating one of them Red Cedar had the privilege of being invited to one. Not that the Apples were shy about inviting even total strangers, but to Cedar this was still a big deal. To her it meant she and Rainier were official.

Rainier’s rodeo was the talk of the town at this reunion, with every aunt, uncle, and cousin pulling him every which way to ask him all about it. He had the stamina for it but Cedar did not; she preferred to take it slow when it came to getting to know ponies. So she settled for sitting leisurely by the pond as her love went off to mingle.

She hardly paid attention to the Apples around her as she reflected on the past few weeks. She was so proud of Rainier, getting such a big opportunity to do what he loved. It brightened her whole day to see him so excited about it! He would be away for awhile and she had to admit she would miss him dearly, but it would be all worth it-

“AUGH!”

Cedar yelled out, suddenly interrupted from her thoughts as she lurched forward into the water. In her daydreaming she failed to notice a foal accidentally running into her, but it was too late now as she fell in.

“HELP!”

Her legs started kicking every which way, reaching out for anything to hold onto as she went under. Cedar was panicking. She didn’t know how to swim! Wasn’t somebody going to help her?

As if on cue, a pair of arms wrapped around her.

Brackish had to admit he sort of hated these reunions. It was nice to see his cousins and all but he had better things he could be doing and a job and all that.

Not to mention it was quite possibly the worst place on Earth to pick up mares!

He was related to 95% of the ponies in attendance, it was awkward.

Brackish was proud of his cousin and made this known when he saw him, making sure to slip in his usual teasing about how his talent was a whole lot harder and a whole lot more dangerous.

When you spend most of your time in death-defying stunts, why wouldn’t you want to brag a little?

However, considering that Rainier didn’t let much of anything get to him, trying to get under his skin got really boring really fast. So he needed to find something else to do.

There was a mare he didn’t recognize, she looked like an Apple with the red and green but he was pretty sure she wasn’t.

The way she sat there reserved and mysterious, she had some secrets to uncover and he wanted to open her up and read her like a book.

So he made his way over with his usual swagger, but before he could introduce himself she fell right into the pond!

She had been flailing for a few seconds before he got to her, using his strong arms and proficiency in the water to scoop her up like she was nothing.

“Hey there filly, you oughta watch where you’re going!”

He chuckled as they emerged, flipping his glistening mane to uncover his deep brooding eyes.

Cedar gasped for air as she came up, mostly because, you know, she finally had her head out of the water but also out of surprise. She was stunned by the strong, muscular body holding her and the deep green eyes staring into her.

“T-thank you.”

She sputtered out, feeling strangely flustered. Who was this stallion? His toned muscles, his soft fur, it felt…nice to be embraced by his soaking wet body. And that confident smirk, that smooth, drawling voice…why, it made her feel something indescribable. This stallion was charming.

“Howdy Brack! I see you’ve met my special somepony!”

Oh shoot! Her boyfriend!

Cedar whipped her head around to face him, her cheeks growing hot as she flailed to be brought back to land.

Brackish Waters knew exactly the effect he had on mares.

They took one look at him coming out of the water, with the hills and valleys of his muscles soaked wet with the salty sea he lived in, and he ruled their waking world.

It could be a curse sometimes, leaving that many broken hearts behind him.~

He stood there for a second holding her above water.

Silent and stoic as he watched her fall apart inside, her lips moving as she struggled to form words.

Darn it Rainier!

He thought to himself as his cousin approached. He walked Red Cedar to the dirt and put her down.

“Yes I sure did, she’s beautiful. You take good care of her, you hear? She’s a clumsy one!”

He teased them both as he left the water himself, his tail shaking as he walked away. Only turning back to smirk at Cedar when her boyfriend wasn’t looking.

“Good golly, you’re all soaked! Lucky my cousin was there to help ya out!”

Rainier wrapped a towel around Cedar and started fussing over her, but she was hardly listening. Her heart pounded against her chest as the stallion shot her another one of his charming looks as he went. Oh, if only in another life…

Darn it! What was she thinking? This was her boyfriend’s cousin! How could she think such dirty thoughts, especially about someone who could very well become family one day! And she already had Rainier, the best stallion she could ever ask for. Why was she thinking about another that way?

“You’re shivering mighty bad, love! Are you okay?”

Cedar looked back to her boyfriend’s concerned gaze. She didn’t even notice she was shivering. She was quite cold, but that wasn’t the full reason why she was shaking.

She nodded weakly and lied,

“Yes, I’m alright.”